Truth

TRUTH

Written & directed by James Vanderbilt

Based on the book by Mary Mapes

Starring Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Dennis Quaid

Your average cinemagoer has a keen sense for injustice. Normally, the desire is to see evildoers go down in flames for their crimes, but when a story is grounded in reality, the outcomes are never so straightforward.

Truth is a tale perfectly pitched to raise your righteous fury, superbly acted and competently scripted with a tense, lingering political thriller atmosphere.

It’s 2004, and 60 Minutes news producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) has her eye on a new story, one that implies President George W. Bush dodged his military service. But with the election looming as the story goes to air, the truth becomes a target – first the story comes under attack, then those telling it.

This is director James Vanderbilt’s debut, after penning and producing the recent iterations of The Amazing Spider-Man. In its construction, it is relatively simple, but his work shines through in the quality of his performers.

Of course, one hardly expects less from Blanchett and co-star Robert Redford, both of whom turn in immensely powerful performances. Redford’s recreation of US broadcasting legend Dan Rather is one of the film’s greatest assets as a pseudo-father figure to Blanchett’s Mapes.

This brings us to one of the film’s odd hangovers – though this is emphatically Mapes’ story (the film is based on her book), her character is wholly emotionally reliant on the men in her life. Her relationships with Rather, her husband (Connor Burke) and her father take up so much screentime that we drift from seeing her coping on her own.

Regardless, Blanchett is as potent as ever, every inch the unshakeable producer faced with professional destruction. She keeps us hooked to every moment as Vanderbilt refuses to shy away from one unrelenting truth – that no matter who is truly at fault, the woman in charge will find herself most hunted.

There’s also strong Aussie representation on display elsewhere, with the almost unrecognisable Noni Hazlehurst rocking up as a tanned Texan that channels her excellent performance opposite Blanchett in Little Fish.

It’s clear that Vanderbilt is an ardent fan of The Newsroom, as the same swelling strings and carefully crafted early-2000s vibe are here on display. The exposition and music can become cloying, as can Dennis Quaid’s smirking military rep.

Such quibbles are left aside as the film draws to its dramatic conclusion, leaving the viewer enraged, and more importantly, inspired to boldly ask questions, no matter the danger.

★★★★☆

Truth is in cinemas now.

Post originally printed in The BRAG, available at http://www.thebrag.com/arts/truth